But the problem, as Eagles inside linebacker coach Rick Minter pointed out, is finding somebody to replace Ryans without a significant drop-off.

The Eagles have severely limited Ryans' work in the first two preseason games, to the point where he got just 15 snaps last Friday against the New England Patriots. That didn't go especially well for his primary replacements, Najee Goode and Emmanuel Acho, in the Eagles' 42-35 loss.

They'll get another chance Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field. Ryans is expected to play more, just because this game is considered the final dress rehearsal for the regular season.

"[The goals] is to get him to the starting gate on time and healthy," Minter said.

The Eagles couldn't experiment like that last season. They were in their first season under head coach Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Bill Davis. The players were trying to learn the defense all at the same time.

Besides, Goode wasn't on the roster at this point. The Eagles signed him after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put him on waivers the week before the season started. Acho was cut just before the season only to be re-signed midway through.

By the time last season ended, Goode had started two games in place of Mychal Kendricks, the other starting inside linebacker, who dealt with a knee injury. Goode seems to be ahead of Acho and other candidates like Casey Matthews, and outside linebackers Travis Long and Josh Kaddu, who are also being tried on the inside.

When they're on the field in Ryans' place, Kendricks, Goode and Acho are being asked to make the calls on defense. Ryans is the Eagles' designated defender, so he is allowed to wear a helmet with a speaker during the game to get the signal from the coaches.

"When we got to where Mychal went down for that two-week span [last season], Najee was clearly the best option to put out on the field," Minter said. "But DeMeco was out there with him, so he didn't have anything to do but play the spot opposite DeMeco without having to make any kind of calls.

"This year, I'm trying to change his mindset, saying, 'What if I put you in for DeMeco, to give him a blow? Are you the guy?' It's a challenge room wide."

Goode and Acho said they can handle the responsibility. They are more familiar with the defense after learning on the fly last season.

"It's our job to create that role," Acho said. "They already want DeMeco to get a little more of a breather, but someone has to be an adequate substitute if DeMeco's going to go out."

Added Goode: "If something happens, I want to be the guy who can take over and do that for this year, next year and the years to come."

Minter said it might not take much more than replacing Ryans for 10 to 12 snaps per game. But the Eagles won't do it if the replacements can't handle it. After all, Ryans' role is well defined.

"The basic way to look at it is he's the quarterback of our defense," Kelly said. "It would be like going out there on offense and not having a quarterback. DeMeco calls the plays and he has to make all the audibles. If we have the defense called and [the opponent] out there is in a different formation, he's the guy that has to make the check in terms of what we're doing.

"That is one of the things he excels at ... The big thing is who else do we have at that position? And that is where that depth at inside linebacker is a key situation that we'll continue to look at in these last two preseason games."

Eagles trade for a kicker

The Eagles' kicking competition got a lot more interesting Wednesday when they traded for Indianapolis Colts rookie Cody Parkey.

The Eagles sent the Colts running back David Fluellen, whom they had released earlier in the day. But the release wasn't going to be official until 4 p.m. and the Eagles completed the trade before that.

Parkey's acquisition leaves the Eagles with three kickers in camp, although Carey Spear is expected to be released soon. Spear was brought in to compete with incumbent Alex Henery, who is coming off the worst season of his career, making 82.1 percent of his field goals. That's still a respectable percentage, but the Eagles were also concerned about the length on his kickoffs.

Henery ranked 26th out of 35 kickers who tried at least 14 kickoffs last season, getting touchbacks on 41.1 percent.

Kelly said earlier in the week that Henery was clearly ahead of Spear, but he expressed concern after Henery missed a 47-yard field goal last Friday against the Patriots, saying: "You've got to make 47-yarders in this league."

Touchbacks, at least, seem to be a strength of Parkey's, a rookie out of Auburn who was trying to unseat longtime veteran Adam Vinatieri. Parker led the nation last season with 69 touchbacks at Auburn, but he was only 15 of 21 on field goal attempts, with a long of 52.

Parkey made one of two field goals in the BCS national championship game last January. He hit from 22 yards, but missed from 33.